Insulate the garage walls - or not?

We are building a new home and one of the options provided by the builder is to insulate the garage walls. It gets damn cold here in the winter, and equally hot in the summer. I do a lot of my own work on the cars so the insulation might be worth something. The house is in a HOA and the houses are super close so the insulation might damp down some of the noise from the air compressor and air tools.

I'm torn if the extra cost is worth it. Opinions and thoughts welcome.

 

What’s the cost?

I’d do it for sure if I could in my own house.. but I can’t so I think you should instead.

 

do it if you can afford it

 

Do it yourself to save some money if you think you're up to the job. But regardless do it if you can afford it. Insulation is fairly inexpensive for the comfort you will gain. Either way you will not regret it. Keep in mind, it works both ways. It will help you year round

 

if you don’t do it you’ll be kicking yourself when your fingers are barely moving in the winter working on your truck

 

I just went through the same thought process. We built our home 2 years ago. I say absolutely 100 percent insulate it. Get an insulated garage door as well. When it's super cold outside, our garage stays warm. In our previous home our fridge in the garage would always get warm in the winter (don't understand why, but it would). We transferred the same fridge to the new garage, it's been consistent year round. Congrats on your house, I really enjoyed the process.

 

Best advice I can give while building. Put outlets everywhere you can think of. Also, put all the light switches inside closets (vs outside), inside the pantry, and on walls away from halls (like the laundry room). Then you can use the Lutron occupancy sensors and walk through your home without turning on lights. Doesn't work for every room, but do it in the rooms it makes sense to do.

We did it, it's awesome the lights just turn on and you don't have to turn them off as you walk through the home.

 

I also recommend taking pictures of everything inside the walls after plumbing and electrical are done and before insulation and sheetrock go in. It'll be very helpful one day to know exactly where everything is located.

 

Insulate and plan for heat as well.

Insulated walls with in floor heating is best for a garage. The floor is cold so I put a gas heater in which is great except the floor is still cold. With the insulated walls the noise and heat efficiency is awesome. Thermostat is set at 68 but my feet are still cold. My garage is a shop not a vehicle storage except for my motorcycles. I can work in there all winter and be comfortable. If I was the one who built it I would would go in floor heat but I am not ripping up the floor to do it now.

 

If you dont do anything in the garage dont insulate...but you say you work out there, so if the most inopportune time for something to break its in the coldest part of the winter. I vote for insulate!

 

Insulate it now. It will be a lot more expensive to insulate after it's built.

 

If you spend time working out there when it is cold outside, and you are concerned about noise, insulating is a no brainer. As mentioned get insulated doors too. I noticed a big difference switching to insulated doors. Of course you need to evaluate cost but having it move in ready vs a home mod on the to-do list before even moving in is worth a reasonable amount to me.

 

An insulated door is already included in the house price. It's $800 for the insulation in the walls and ceiling.

Thanks for the idea on the light switches. I'm going to do that.

 

I’d do it for $800. Save your projects for things that are fun.

 

Marked up, yes. But it is going to cost you a few hundred to DIY easily, plus redoing drywall if using rolled. I’d easily pay that rather then adding another project to the house, especially if financed over a 30yr fixed rate mortgage.

 

I'm a former builder, and I just built my own home and shop this year. The shops rear wall is fully south facing and stayed comfortable temp through the whole summer. Make sure to insulate the attic space as well. Go R40+ it's worth it.

 

Also if you have the option, 20A circuits (multiple) in the garage, not the 15A ones. A 220v would be great too.

 

Insulate and in floor heat if you can. The comfort is worth the cost.

 

Dedicated garage sub panel, I like how you think. Never to many outlets, at the back wall and at least one by the doors.

 

You guys have some good ideas, maybe I should start a "build" page.

Our current house is a custom built job, from the architect to the builder I chose who would do the job. If I wanted a change the answer was never "no." The answer was "yes and this is how much it will cost." This deal is one of those mega home builders and it has been a frustrating process. I know what I want and how much a reasonable price would be. I'm so tired of being told "no we don't do that." But, in real estate they say location, location, location and this house has a LOCATION! So I'm putting up with the builder's bull shit because I can fix anything they won't do.

That and a heated floor would be so great. I wish I had the $$$$ to afford such a luxury.

Additional outlets are $70 each and I've added a bunch. $70 is a stupid expensive amount to add an outlet in a new house. They know they have me over a barrel and I will pay because I have to. The 220V in the garage is something I will add later, because $250 is more than a stupid amount and I haz skillz.